


She that loveth her chasteneth her betimes.

by aimeewrites



Series: Atonement [2]
Category: Gentleman Jack (TV)
Genre: F/F, Light BDSM, Light Dom/sub
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2020-07-23 20:16:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20014195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aimeewrites/pseuds/aimeewrites
Summary: After their wedding, Anne and Ann are not the happy couple they wish forwhat could bring them together again ?(first two lines  from Anne's diary)





	She that loveth her chasteneth her betimes.

_**« I feel now at last resigned to my fate and take it very quietly – she has no mind for me – I shall not meet with one that had, in this world. Let me be thankful for all the mercies and the blessings I have, rather than sigh for more…”** _

_“A- out of sorts today again. Woke me twice last night complaining of not being able to sleep and I in turn could not settle. No kiss again. Today at breakfast, toast and eggs – the eggs did not agree with me and I felt sick the whole morning. Complaints again about Shibden’s Farm and walked to it in half the time I usually walk. Feeling wretched tonight – marriage is not the blessing I had hoped for and I cannot muster my earlier enthusiasm.”_

“What is it, Adny ? I am not done yet – please do not disturb me .”

Ann Walker sat in the armchair by the fire and bit her lips to keep from crying – for the umpteenth time since she and Anne had taken the sacrament together, she wished she had not foolishly yielded to her heart’s demands. She had known her lover had a temper and could be moody and unapproachable, but it seemed to her it had got worse since Anne had become mistress of Shibden Hall. Anne had less and less time for her wife and Ann could not bear feeling neglected. She could almost accept taking second place to the estate, if Anne would show her a modicum of their earlier affection. She was too weary to fly into a passion and even though she knew Anne despised tears, she could not help it. She broke into sobs and although she tried to smother her sorrow in her handkerchief, she knew Anne would notice. In a burst of pride, she rose and fled from the room – she would not give Anne a reason to sermonise her for her weakness.

Anne had been so absorbed by her journal that she had barely noticed her wife sitting down behind her, but the tears broke her concentration. Instead of going after Ann immediately, however, she tried to arrange her thoughts on paper –soul-searching was so much easier in writing.

_“Once again A- displeased with me. I cannot do anything right in her eyes, and do not know what I do wrong. M- used to tell me I could be selfish and self-centered, and reproached me several times for not being the one she wanted. I do not think I can be called upon on my behaviour in matters of physical love, but as a human being I am as others – flawed and imperfect in nature. I do not know if A- can give me what I crave in companionship, but we are now tied in the eyes of God, and I must honour my vows and cherish and respect her in all possible ways. I wish I could explain to her that I should respect her all the more if she did not submit to my every will, but this is not an easy matter for me to talk about. Tib understood that in me better than anyone else; how hard being the strong one always is. How can I get A- to give me what I desire?”_

With a sigh, Anne got up wearily and went in search of her wife. She found her huddled on the ottoman in the drawing room, her face hidden in the fabric of the backrest. The sight of her young wife in distress tugged at Anne’s heartstrings and the idea that she was responsible for her sorrow made her almost nauseated. Were it Tib in Ann’s place, she would have known what to do, but would Ann understand? There was only one way to find out. She sank to her knees at Ann’s feet and bowed her head, eyes fixedly on the floor, and waited for the younger woman to acknowledge her.

Anne felt Ann move and although she kept her eyes firmly down, she sensed her wife’s glance on her. Swallowing hard, she tried to find a way to convey her needs – her penitent attitude may not be clear enough to Ann, although during their earlier kisses the younger woman had shown herself to be no prude. Anne gulped and began: “I beg you to forgive me, my love – I have been neglectful and have paid no attention to your needs. Would you be kind enough to show me the error of my ways? I will accept any consequences of my behaviour from your hand.”

Ann took a moment to reflect on her partner’s demand and the silence only exacerbated Anne’s discomfort and need. When the younger woman finally spoke, the ice in her voice almost convinced Anne that she would indeed get what she craved.

“I am glad that you realised that I cannot accept such behaviour from you any longer, Lister, and that you understand your attitude needs an adjustment.”

Anne almost shivered at the words and tone. When Eliza had called her Lister, it had been in affection and love, but when Ann did, it meant she was sorely displeased with her. She risked a look at Ann’s face and what she saw in her wife’s eyes made her almost regret her attitude. She gulped and murmured: “ I am very sorry, Miss Walker, for having wronged you in any way. I will not do it again.”

“Not good enough, Lister. You have got to learn that acts have consequences. I am going to have to discipline you.”

Was it too much? Would she scare Anne away? Ann realised she was holding her breath, waiting for Anne’s answer. Her heart was beating a little faster in anticipation.

Anne nodded and bit her lips.

“I want a verbal answer, Lister. I want you to tell me what is going to happen.

“You – you are going to chastise me, Miss Walker.”

Ann paused, contemplating the woman sitting at her feet. With her head bent and her hair down and in disarray, her husband was adorable. The tall and dark mistress of Shibden Hall suddenly appeared fragile and vulnerable, making Ann almost afraid to go further.

“Yes, Lister, I am going to punish you –if I can make you cry, it will be a just chastisement, don’t you agree?

“Make me cry? You shall not!”

Regretting her words as soon as she had said them, Anne cringed. In usual circumstances, she tried not to cry – it was a luxury she could not afford. Even as a girl when the school governesses had tried to beat the stubbornness out of her she had not shed a tear. Only when she was severely tested or exhausted … But these were not usual circumstances, and…

“This attitude of yours had to go, Lister. Remember whom you are talking to.”

The more Ann was talking in those freezing tones, the more Anne’s body was reacting in the most unexpected and delicious way. She tensed in a tentative to control the tingles in her abdomen. Staring at Ann’s feet, she murmured: “Yes, Ma’am.”

Ann reached out and with her hand under Anne’s chin forced the tall woman to rise on her knees.

Anne opened herself to Ann’s unforgiving stare. She kept her hands crossed in front of her, as if protecting her womanhood, and her eyes low. Then Ann’s hand reached out for Anne’s cravat and undid it. Anne didn’t protest when her wife unbuttoned her waistcoat and reached for her skirt, letting it drop to the floor, although her body shivered violently in response.

“Stand up, Lister.”

As mortified as aroused, Anne stood up in front of her wife, in her undergarments – she was not ashamed of her body, but she usually avoided showing herself in a state of undress with her lovers – it robbed her of her domineering stance and she was usually loath to relinquish control. Her breasts strained against her corset and she knew her body understood what was going to happen, maybe even better than her mind.

“Come here, Lister.”

Anne bent over and Ann drew her towards her, helping her position herself over her knees, elbows resting on the couch. A sudden burst of uncertainty made Ann murmur: “Are you sure?” and a soft breathless “Yes, please” answered her question. A soft slap landed on Anne’s bottom and she squirmed, not from pain but from surprise – she had craved the chastisement but had not thought her wife up to the task. She laid still afterwards – Tib’s punishments had been so more severe that Ann’s blows appeared more like love taps. Her wife must have realised she was too lenient, for she increased the force of the blows. After the first hard smack, Anne’s whole body jerked and stiffened, and Ann’s hand hesitated for a second before applying a second hard one. Anne tried to relax under her wife’s hand, but the jolts on her behind echoed between her legs, sending signals she desperately attempted to quell. As the relentless assault went on and the pain mingled with the tingles of desire, she sank into the sensations, willing and then just letting her mind to relinquish control. When she felt a hand tugging on her undergarments, exposing her already reddening skin, she felt a wave of humiliation ripple through her. She found herself begging Ann to stop while she craved the release, and as her wife paid no heed to her protests, she felt her body go limper, but the tears refused to come. In her weakened state, she barely heard Ann order her to get up and bend over the armrest, but a sharp slap to the top of her thigh penetrated her brain and compelled her to obey. Vaguely aware of her wife positioning herself behind her, she tried to calm her ragged breathing.

“I want you to count, Lister, and thank me. Do not move, or we will start again from the beginning.”

The first twack sent a jolt of pain through her body. The reddened skin trembled under the blow, and her brain struggled to understand why this new sensation evoked a distant memory. As she gasped: “One, thank you, Ma’am”, “Two, thank you, Ma’am”, the memory gained sharper contours, and the images made her suddenly twist and put one hand on the punished skin.

“Lister! What do you think you are doing? Very well, from the beginning then!” Anne slumped again on the armrest, and Ann yielded to the temptation she was fighting from the beginning. She bent forward and brushed away a stray strand of hair on Anne’s cheek, murmuring: “Do not do that, my darling – I do not want to hurt you.” A small shiver rippled through Anne’s body at the unexpected touch, and she whimpered. The unknown attacker made contact with her sore behind again and again, but as she heard herself cry out “Six, Ma’am”, the tears came at last, ripping through her throat. She lost count after that, engulfed by arousal and pain. After just a few more blows, Ann threw away the cane she had in her hands and pulled Anne in her arms. Anne buried her head in her wife’s neck as Ann stroked her hair and murmured soothing words. Anne’s sobs were broken by halting “I am sorry – I am so sorry.” Ann sealed her mouth with her finger before her lips brushed Anne’s and the latter responded eagerly, tilting her head to accept the kiss. They fell back on the ottoman, entwined, and their bodies melted into each other.

_“Still sore from yesterday. Two good kisses last night after… A- wields a mean cane and my body responded eagerly to her touch. Dripping wet and fully repentant.”_


End file.
